Dear Grinity
Thank you so much for your considered reply. I live in Aust. and some websites say that 115 is midly gifted which probably means above average or something. Not sure why they use the term gifted. I have read though, on some sites, that children who score in the top 20% should probably be considered for extension work.
Your description of my daughter fits in part though she loves writing stories and writes them all the time without any prompting. Her vocab. has always been beyond those of her peers. She's not really a reader though. She perfers to make up games which she gets completely lost in for hours on end. Her imagination seems endless, almost boadering on obessive. She was like this even as a toddler. She would pretend she was a horee and run for hours! Somtimes when she's drawing she can do it for hours also. One night she drew a movie story-board plan for 7 1/2 hours straight. I think this might be the reason why the psychologist thought she was displaying mild characteristics of Aspergers. However if she does have Aspergers it must be very mild as she doesn't really fit th eprofile in most respects except a couple. She does take things literally and is very concerned with being neat and doing things just right.
So I would describe her as a highly creative child. She can have mood swings and get quite frustrated but this is usually when she is tired. She has always asked the big questions such as does God exist? Where does the universe end? She stopped believing in Santa and the tooth fairy at about 3 and worked out the concept of death at abuot the same time when she wept 'cause she realised that I would die one day. She is intense, reserved, self-concious but loves the company of other kids and likes to control the play. She is also very aware of other peoples feeings and reaches out to those who are lonely or isolated. She seems to feel deeply for animals and those badly done by.
When she was little she seemed to have a great level concentration which impressed us all. At 2 1/2 my mother took her to a proper ballet that lasted over 2 hours and she sat still without a peep out of her for all that time. She does the same with long films, stories as well. She doesn't seem particularly slow to me. She does things when I ask and is, generally, keen to please. Though I have to sometimes remind her several times.
I've considered moving schools but it's so disruptive for both my daughters and on the whole they are happy there. Unfortunately there is little funding for special ed. They really just concetrate on children that can't read well.
I've pestered the school quite a bit. I'm sure they're sick of me. I managed to get her 1/2 hr special ed. a week to help with her maths. I also engaged a private tutor which I can't afford. I hope we will see some improvement. When I asked why my daughter marks were falling I was told that although she was a good reader she didn't do well in her comprehension tests which completely contradicts her WIATT score of 90%. she will often say to me "I just don't understand what they are asking me to do". I have asked the teacher if she could perhaps write instructions down for Eve so she sees the steps involved but I don't thin she is doing this. I feel as though the school is fed up with my pestering. They have no explanation except that she is an average student with good reading skills.
I really apppreciate your advice and have looked at your links. Could you calculate her GAI or is this not useful unless she is gifted? As you said I think she is bright and her marks at school are not reflecting this. I tired to explain to the teacher that according to her WISC and WIATT she should be doing better than average or below average. Maybe there is a LD but no teacher's have ever said that they suspect she has one.
Again thank you so much for your insight. I hope I can help my daughter fufil her potential.
